With job vacancy rates above pre-pandemic norms, many Canadians are working on understaffed teams, and it’s starting to take a toll on their mental health, as well as their summer vacation plans.
According to Statistics Canada the number of vacant jobs hovered around the half million mark in the years leading up to the pandemic, but by early 2022 there were a record breaking one million vacancies. In the first quarter of 2023 there were still 800,000 unfilled job openings. A separate Statistics Canada study also found that 21 per cent of employed Canadians are experiencing high or very high levels of work related stress, the most common cause of which is a heavy workload, followed by a lack of work-life balance.
While it’s hard to measure just how much of an impact the elevated job vacancy rate is having on workers’ mental health, Statistics Canada analyst and economist Brian Latour points to one sector where both measures are off the charts. “Understaffing has been cited by a lot of employees as contributing to their stress, especially in healthcare and social assistance, so I think there could be a link there,” he says.
Persistent gaps in the workforce create a vicious cycle that makes it harder for Canadians to step away from work. According to a recent survey conducted by recruitment firm Robert Half Canada, 36 per cent of workers feel more burned out now than they were a year ago, – and nearly half feel just as burned out as last year – with 54 per cent blaming a heavy workload.
The report shows that the most common form of support provided to workers to combat burnout is being encouraged to take time off.
However, 68 per cent of workers plan to take the same or fewer vacation days this summer compared to last. Twenty per cent of workers feel they can’t take time off at all and 18 per cent say they will be checking in with work while away.
“We’re seeing more stress because people have insufficient tools and resources, and a big part of that is there just aren’t enough people to help,” says Evangeline Berube, an associate director for Robert Half Management Resources. “Further to that, there’s an inability to unplug while on vacation because there’s nobody to fill in.”
Ms. Berube says the situation is the result of a labour shortage that is making it harder for organizations to find staff coupled with economic uncertainty that is making employees harder to afford.
“If organizations are trying not to add headcount because they’re concerned about their budget, or they can’t find the talent they’re looking for, the work still has to get done, so you end up piling additional work on people that are already busy,” she says.
Further complicating the matter is workers’ hesitation to admit when they’re burning out. According to the Robert Half study, 39 per cent of respondents feel uneasy expressing feelings of burnout to their managers.
“People worry that if they admit that they’re burnt out they might not be looked at as favourably for potential career [advancement] opportunities,” says Ms. Berube. “There’s maybe still a bit of a stigma around it, so people soldier on and work through it.”
Whether they admit to it or not, burnout has a direct impact on workers’ ability to perform, and ultimately their organizations’ bottom line. According to a recent study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), burnout costs the Canadian economy more than $200-billion annually.
“Failing to address the critical needs of employees from a mental health and wellbeing perspective is directly impacting productivity, and it’s directly impacting organizations’ ability to attract and retain talent,” says Genevieve Bonin, a managing director and partner at BCG. “This is not a problem that can be avoided anymore; an organization’s success is really dependent on making this a strategic priority – not in a year from now, but right away.”
According to a recent study conducted by Achievers, however, only 24 per cent of Canadian and U.S. workers say their workplace actively supports their mental health and wellbeing. According to Dr. Natalie Baumgartner, the Toronto-based employee experience software provider’s chief workforce scientist, leaders need to take responsibility for their teams’ mental health. They also need to take a vacation of their own.
“There is no substitute for modelling the behaviour that you want to see in your organization,” she says. “A critical component of performing well at work is recharging, and if you believe that then your job as a leader is to do it yourself.”
Dr. Baumgartner – who admits to not always taking as much time off as she should – says it’s often more difficult for leaders to step away, as they need to spend more time preparing for an absence. “One of the challenges for leaders is that it’s so much work to take a vacation that [they feel], ‘I might as well not,’” she says.
Failing to do so, however, causes colleagues to avoid fully disconnecting themselves, and ultimately makes it harder for them to manage the added stresses of an understaffed workforce.
“Getting the pieces in place so these leaders can really be off the grid [means] not only will they be refreshed, but [also] when other people take time off, they will feel like they can do the same,” says Dr. Baumgartner. “That’s really what’s needed to break the cycle.”